I need advice. D25’s top choice emailed to ask how much additional aid we need to make it work. The number I want is $8000 additional aid, but we could probably live with $6000. Do I split the difference? Do I give them the actual lowest we’ll take? What’s the right way to do this? Does anyone have advice? I know that probably seems like a trivial difference, but it means a lot to us. How much does it mean to a college?
I’m no professional negotiator, but my gut says ask (in a friendly way, of course) for $8K–they might surprise you.
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Can I ask what your daughter is majoring in?
I love UW too, it’s a great school and so beautiful. Love the location too. I just don’t think it’s the best option for my kid and his profile. ADHD, English major, a little bit shy. He has great LACs that would definitely be a better fit IMO. But I’m hoping to get some feedback on humanities dept, specifically English.
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I would tell them at $6k you would strongly consider it, at $8k you would commit immediately (assuming that is true).
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I think ask for the $8k—if they say no or offer $6k, you can figure it out then. I’ve been giving schools my real “he’d commit today if you could meet this number” price. Most have responded with less, but one gave us the full amount.
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I would definitely ask for 8k, especially because they specifically asked for a number.
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Thank you @DeeH , @Juno16 , and @CarNu2000 ! This is such helpful advice. And we would totally commit today for that, but would have to seriously consider if it were much lower. Two other colleges are certainly willing to give more than that, but this is where she wants to go. I tried to prepare, but was so not prepared for this. As is true of everything parenting related.
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Ask for $8000 and use the $6000 as your back up negotiation tactic.
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My kid has a passport. We may get an EDL as well, just so the passport isn’t carried around all the time during vacations.
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Haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been following along on everyone’s journeys as your kids make their decisions. So exciting! And it’s wonderful to see them going through this in such thoughtful and intentional ways. It sounds to me like they will land in such great places next year, and their journeys are really inspiring me for when C27 gets this ball rolling in a year or so.
As for us, I am currently on FlightAware (again) tracking kiddo’s trip to Minnesota with his dad to do a revisit day at St. Olaf tomorrow. We decided it was worth it for him to go again, even though he has already committed there. Plus one of his parental units wanted to check it out too!! Kiddo has vetoed the quaint idea of a family road trip with a Uhaul/RV to move him in (I can’t imagine why), so maybe I’ll get my chance then? He is so ready to be done with high school. Just over 7 weeks to go if you include the upcoming break!
My sister is asking for graduation gift ideas - I jokingly suggested frequent flyer miles. Does anyone have any great suggestions for a group gift from family?
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My S22 is attending UW-Tacoma and majoring in Writing Studies with a concentration in Technical Writing. It seems like he’s getting a pretty standard liberal arts education with “huh, that class sounds interesting!” every term.
I would only assume that UW-Seattle is even stronger than the UW-Tacoma offerings.
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If your kid likes coffee then a nice coffee maker for the dorm room worked out well for us (either pods or something fancier).
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I don’t have “regret” exactly over D25s school choice. After all, due to my work situation I was really (really) hoping she would NOT choose a Tuition Exchange school. I don’t feel bad at the most of the TE free tuition offers she turned down as they weren’t great fits (U of Scranton, U of Indy, Wayne State U, Elmhurst, Marquette). However, her top school of interest at the start of it all was Lindenwood. When she got waitlisted for TE at Lindenwood she pretty quickly committed to Central Mich. She got the extra scholarship from Central Mich so tuition ends up at around 7k/year so that takes the sting out of finding out she got off the waitlist and was awarded the full tuition TE offer at Lindenwood. In the end, she is really happy and excited about her school choice and I can live with the cost difference.
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Haven’t had a chance to post in a while but it was notable to see everyone was talking about school computers just as D25’s dad brought it up. I thought it might be best to wait until she decides where to go to see what’s common/recommended by that school, but someone else had a good point that brand might not really matter unless a student is in a program, like engineering, that uses specific software.
I’ve always used MacBooks. Someone upthread mentioned lack of compatibility with Microsoft software but I’ve always run that on my MacBooks without an issue.
We are still in the throes of decision-making here- D25’s finalists are Williams, Middlebury, Vassar, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, & UVM honors college (in-state for us). Williams is the one where her dad & I went & met, so we are not-so-secretly rooting for it. D25 & DH headed down there this afternoon for an admitted students day. DH has been texting me pictures and updates and I’m feeling nostalgic (and sad I couldn’t go).
Somewhere up thread people talked about purple being the best school color and I agree! Not that she shouldn’t totally base her choice on that, but if she can’t decide, then, well…
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I waited until it was Instagram official but we are done: S25 is going to be a Husky at UW this fall! Just bought a sweatshirt with a big purple W. It could almost be Williams!
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But the yellow… cant beat the Williams combo 
Big congrats!
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Congrats on the decision!
And yes- the colors and W are similar except for the gold vs white. (And now the Williams font is different, at least on their mailings/brochures. I haven’t looked at the sweatshirts to see if it looks different too.)
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Congratulations! I’ve loved following your search story through this conclusion. Where you started and where it ended – quite a journey and what a twist! Thanks for sharing. A great illustration of how it all evolves!
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I know the pain. And he quite loves his M3 Max 15" MacBook Pro (he is CS) It was a small fortune but he is so happy and has no regrets on the extra size.
I have no problem with it since he goes everywhere with a backpack and the computer in the sleeve, but he takes notes on paper (which gets him quite a few side looks these days, especially in CS lol) but many of his classmates don;t carry the computer around much and take notes on an iPad instead. He also has a double wide screen at his desk. If your son is editing videos he might enjoy that.
Sounds like a huge accomplishment. Congratulations to him, and to you for helping him through his own personal journey.
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Congratulations!!! Something tells me we’ll be right there with you on this journey.
UW is a great school!
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